1. Tiny little black flies, no bigger than the tiniest dot in the smallest dot com. That's how small they are. Almost invisible, silent, there and not there in the same moment, always alone. What do they want from you? Who are they? Where do they live? What do they eat? Do they eat? You're clean, you don't smell bad, you don't have rotting food lying around or other stuff flies might be interested in. Are they even flies? WTF?
2. Why is your excellent advice ignored by those who need it most? Your
unquestionable wisdom, distilled from a lifetime of experience and
insight could be like nectar is to a bee or like the letter B is to C,
fitting perfectly in a logical sequence recognised by the whole world as
an alphabet. So why is it ignored?
Now please worry about these two issues for a few hours, or even minutes. Then move on. Have a happy January etc.
Now please worry about these two issues for a few hours, or even minutes. Then move on. Have a happy January etc.
6 comments:
Do I hear the Devil laughing?
Tom, I don't know. I forgot to put on my hearing aids!
1) One theory: it's winter. Tiny black flies and other insects like to come into a warmish house instead of hibernating out there. Or climate change may have something to do with it. Think of it as a migration issue. One can patrol with deadly spray, or welcome them through our borders, so long as they don't burden us. No political bias implied.
2) Perhaps we give our excellent advice to those who need it most because we need to do so. Their need (or ours) may not equal their want. Or we can lend a sympathetic ear and leave them to learn for themselves, though it can be painful to be witness to their mistakes.
I could imagine myself presenting these ideas with the aid of a blackboard: circles, arrows, the odd mathematical formula. Behind my back the class is restless or comatose, waiting for the bell to release them.
Such rituals pass the time. Happy new year!
1. They are scouts, spying out the territory for larger flies and reporting back to HQ. Despite their size they tend to be over-optimistic ("Bluebottles will have a whale of time here.") and are routinely disblieved. On the rare occasions the micro-flies manage to sound plausible the bluebottles remain cautious and send just one of their tribe to check out the exaggerations. He buzzes about in your curtains, a right royal pain in the ass. But just imagine if he were a tribe. You should be glad the micro-flies' grasp of truth is so tenuous. Unintentionally they are your friends.
2. There is advice and there is the way it is delivered. Nobody ever issues disinterested advice; all advisers demand instant obedience. Since no advisee likes being hectored, obedience of any kind is rare. This enrages the adviser who never seems to learn that shoutiness is more likely to induce deafness than compliance. Occasionally one adviser finds himself advising another of his kind and spontaneous combustion ensues. The secondary school I attended was born out of this futile attitude and I learnt nothing other than being beaten across my knuckles with the edge of a ruler hurts like hell. My father paid out large sums for my so-called education; he should instead have paid attention to the school's motto: Hoc age (This do!)
Thanks Vincent.
1. I want them comatose (or him or her: maybe it's always the same one?) I've tried burning incense sticks, that seems to work for a while. I don't trust deadly sprays, they're deadly to me as well. But anyway I don't know where these minuscule creatures hang out, they (or it) just appear then disappear immediately.
2. My ear is generally sympathetic if also a bit impatient. The excellent advice I provide is said to be helpful. Then ignored.
Thanks Robbie.
1. Indeed they may be scouts or some other nefarious entities.What really annoys me is that they leave no traces or tracks as to where they're coming from or what draws them to my surroundings. I will get to the bottom of this, Sherlock Holmes style.
2. My advice delivery is not generally shouty or hectoring and not addressed to children or teens or students. I can't go into details but I suppose what I was really saying is that trying to introduce reality into someone's fictional view of themselves is a fool's errand.
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